tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post110781650164849803..comments2024-01-13T18:57:18.243-05:00Comments on Information Processing: Science fundingSteve Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1108081584344715502005-02-10T19:26:00.000-05:002005-02-10T19:26:00.000-05:00You should tell that guy who funded the Perimeter ...You should tell that guy who funded the Perimeter Institute. If he spent the $100 million on lobbying it would have done physics alot more good than spending it on Lee Smolin and loop quantum gravity garbage. Such a waste.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107961126676997692005-02-09T09:58:00.000-05:002005-02-09T09:58:00.000-05:00Agreed. I am learning, and anticipated such a res...Agreed. I am learning, and anticipated such a response. Nice.<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107921454378438022005-02-08T22:57:00.000-05:002005-02-08T22:57:00.000-05:00Mayr on complex systems:
"...their characteristics...Mayr on complex systems:<br />"...their characteristics cannot be deduced (even in theory) from the most complete knowledge of the components, taken separately or in other combinations."<br /><br />This goes a bit too far - in *practice* these characteristics can't be deduced (i.e., the behavior of a hawk from the properties of atoms), but we reductionists think that in *principle* they can.Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107910416937650402005-02-08T19:53:00.000-05:002005-02-08T19:53:00.000-05:00Toward a New Philosophy of Biology
Ernst Mayr [19...Toward a New Philosophy of Biology <br />Ernst Mayr [1988]<br /><br />The complexity of living systems.<br /><br />Living systems are characterized by a remarkably complex organization which endows them with the capacity to respond to external stimuli, to bind or release energy (metabolism), to grow, to differentiate, and to replicate. Biological systems have the further remarkable property that Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107899262910088202005-02-08T16:47:00.000-05:002005-02-08T16:47:00.000-05:00The above article on modern dance in China is exce...The above article on modern dance in China is excellent, so I thought to say so.<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107895842280372522005-02-08T15:50:00.000-05:002005-02-08T15:50:00.000-05:00Steve Hsu asks an interesting question about wheth...Steve Hsu asks an interesting question about whether we are able to account for speed of evolution. How long might it have taken for a molecular soup to become bacteria, and so on? Is the age of the earth itself enough to account for speciation?<br /><br />I must ask and think simply about whether answers to such questions may be knowable.<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107886448385449072005-02-08T13:14:00.000-05:002005-02-08T13:14:00.000-05:00Carson
How slow I am. I just found your blog, an...Carson<br /><br />How slow I am. I just found your blog, and what a nice blog to visit often :)<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107886242710489402005-02-08T13:10:00.000-05:002005-02-08T13:10:00.000-05:00Carson Carson,
Teasing was the point, though I am...Carson Carson,<br /><br />Teasing was the point, though I am forever listening to students explain that there's more prestige in physics or chemistry than biology. However, you have made a most important comment: "What is often missing is speculation." When I read Origin of Species, I realized how surprisingly imaginative Charles Darwin was. I do agree with you, but there is always reason to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107881790662133472005-02-08T11:56:00.000-05:002005-02-08T11:56:00.000-05:00Of course, you are right, Steve :)
I think it is ...Of course, you are right, Steve :)<br /><br />I think it is a matter of timing/luck (apart from abilities, of course) when it comes to getting academic positions (what sub-fields are 'hot', open positions etc). I myself could not afford the luxury of doing a post-doc with its attendant uncertainities, and so promptly moved out of academia after my Ph.D. So I don't feel I wasted too much time Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107881221318068282005-02-08T11:47:00.000-05:002005-02-08T11:47:00.000-05:00Anne: How did we decide that biology is semi-scie...Anne: How did we decide that biology is semi-science? According to Popper, there is definitely more science currently going on in biology than in say string theory. If anything, biology has too much science. It dogmatically follows the scientific method of hypothesis, experiment, evaluation, and new hypothesis. What is often missing is speculation.Carson C. Chowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08464737817585277975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107879510901095012005-02-08T11:18:00.000-05:002005-02-08T11:18:00.000-05:00http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/arts/dance/08joy...http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/arts/dance/08joyc.html?pagewanted=all&position=<br /><br />In Modern Dance, Reflections of a Restless China in Flux<br />By ANNA KISSELGOFF <br /> <br />In a country where the arts are expected to support government policy rather than exist primarily as independent forms, China's still-young and rapidly expanding modern dance has a distinct advantage. It is a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107878494262140452005-02-08T11:01:00.000-05:002005-02-08T11:01:00.000-05:00MFA/Carson: I am not entirely serious about my "do...MFA/Carson: I am not entirely serious about my "don't become a scientist" warnings. Certainly, some people get more enjoyment and satisfaction from the subject than any amount of money could ever buy. However, this isn't necessarily the case for many (most?) kids who set off to become the next Einstein or Mayr. I know a lot of super-talented people who, in their mid 30's, after PhDs from top Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107874447052324502005-02-08T09:54:00.000-05:002005-02-08T09:54:00.000-05:00http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/business/worldbu...http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/business/worldbusiness/08yuan.html<br /><br />Lax Management at China's Banks Remains a Concern of Regulators and Investors<br />By CHRIS BUCKLEY <br /> <br />BEIJING - China's top regulator laid out proposals on Monday to cut bad loans and bank fraud, but also had harsh words for a state-owned bank that acknowledged recently that a manager had embezzled $102 Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107874281099455232005-02-08T09:51:00.000-05:002005-02-08T09:51:00.000-05:00http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/international/as...http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/international/asia/08korea.html?pagewanted=all&position=<br /><br />2 Koreas Forge Economic Ties to Ease Tensions<br />By NORIMITSU ONISHI <br /> <br />SEOUL, South Korea - The first products made jointly by South and North Korea since the peninsula was divided half a century ago - stainless steel pots priced at $19 a pair - went on sale at a department store Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107874253941228052005-02-08T09:50:00.000-05:002005-02-08T09:50:00.000-05:00Are we supposed to always agree with you because y...Are we supposed to always agree with you because you own the blog :)<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107873861740945222005-02-08T09:44:00.000-05:002005-02-08T09:44:00.000-05:00Then I will encourage your niece to become a scien...Then I will encourage your niece to become a scientist, or for that matter just what she may wish. The last painting has not been painted, the last pelican not been traced to the fish she catches. Of course, biologists are only semi scientists and artists no scientists at all, but still :)<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107873752572365992005-02-08T09:42:00.000-05:002005-02-08T09:42:00.000-05:00Anne: What a beautiful bird!
Regarding career in ...Anne: What a beautiful bird!<br /><br />Regarding career in science, I agree a career in (at least some fields) science is getting harder these days (as opposed to the 60s ---`Sputnik money'). <br /><br />Now for an ode to basic science. While I am no longer doing science in academia, I consider myself fortunate to have had an excellent science education (theoretical physics). I think I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107828583577112492005-02-07T21:09:00.000-05:002005-02-07T21:09:00.000-05:00Hi Carson,
Science R&D is good for the country bu...Hi Carson,<br /><br />Science R&D is good for the country but not necessarily an optimal career choice for my niece! In fact, one of the positive benefits of having strong research infrastructure here is that it attracts talent from overseas. This benefits our nation in the long run, but also depresses the wages of home-grown science geeks like me. (Who should know better than to go into academicSteve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107826006759576052005-02-07T20:26:00.000-05:002005-02-07T20:26:00.000-05:00Wait a minute, didn't you just post a while ago ab...Wait a minute, didn't you just post a while ago about how you would definitely discourage your niece (and I would presume nephew) about going into science? How can we engender interest in science if our own scientists are negative on the profession? Come clean Steve, if you had a chance you would do it all over again, wouldn't you:).<br /><br />ccCarson C. Chowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08464737817585277975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107823610558502912005-02-07T19:46:00.000-05:002005-02-07T19:46:00.000-05:00http://www.palemale.com/
Smile.
Annehttp://www.palemale.com/<br /><br />Smile.<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1107822621725524812005-02-07T19:30:00.000-05:002005-02-07T19:30:00.000-05:00Right right right.
AnneRight right right.<br /><br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com